Writing Activity 3

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Writing Activity 1: Prewriting and Research Packet

ChaVeda A. Willis

ENG 215 - Research & Writing

Professor Gabriel Smith

October 20, 2018

Topic, Position, Audience, and Goal

Topic

My topic is whether people should use antidepressants or over the counter medicine to control anxiety and depression end punctuation?

Position

People should use antidepressants when needed not when being abused. A little unclear what you mean here. Who is abusing antidepressants? A little context would help make your point come through a bit more effectively here.

Audience

The audience for this essay ranges from young to middle-aged adults. They may be the ones forming their own ideas. They also are the ones who are abusing the drugs. watch out for generalizations like this, Chaveda. Since young adults use antidepressants abusively, they already don't want to stop using drugs. The values and beliefs shared with this audience are believing that leaving the antidepressants alone will really help your body instead of abusing them. So, is your goal to convince people not to do drugs? This would definitely benefit from some specificity.

Goal

I plan to persuade this audience to leave antidepressants alone instead of abusing them. Wouldn’t your audience consist of people who are already abusing these drugs? How might you approach this to engage a wider reading audience?

Supporting Points

1. Antidepressants are needed for depression not just for fun. Are they used for “fun”? Which antidepressants are you referring to?

2. Antidepressants are maintained to help with anxiety and depression.

3. Taking antidepressants help with maintaining everything in your life.

Research Organizer

Top 3 Sources with Summaries

Elizabeth Evans, Aug 2014 Substance Abuse Rehabilitation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4140701/

While prescription drugs have been used effectively and appropriately to treat both medical and psychiatric illness in the vast majority of patients, rates of prescription abuse have escalated and have reached epidemic proportions.1 Despite the growing concern regarding misuse and abuse of prescription drugs, much of the earlier epidemiological data were limited, in part, due to ambiguous definitions of terms such as “abuse”, “misuse”, and “non medical use.”

Iodine is this an author’s name? May 2015 Find What Works for You https://blog.iodine.com/5-prescription-drugs-most-likely-to-be-abused-and-leave-you-in-the-er-or-worse-bc3595611729

Prescription drug abuse is on the rise. And it’s not just with opined painkillers. Here’s a list of some commonly abused prescription medications with dire consequences. You said that there would be a list of abused prescriptions, but I don’t see any listed here, Chaveda. In 2011, pharmaceuticals accounted for 1.4 million Emergency Room (ER) visits, more than twice as many as in 2004. That’s a couple ticks higher than the 1.2 million ER visits for illicit drugs that year (those visits grew, too, but just by 52% from 2004).

MPR, August 22,2014 The Antidepressants Most Commonly Abused, Misused https://www.empr.com/medical-news/the-antidepressants-most-commonly-abused-misused/article/366992/

Although most patients on antidepressant therapy are not taking the drugs for non-medical use or abusing them, there is a potential for misuse; instead of arguing against a “potential” problem, I’d love to see you focus your attention on an actual argumentative topic, Chaveda. this is particularly concerning due to a link between mood disorders and substance use disorders that may increase the vulnerability of patients taking antidepressants to misuse or abuse their medications. The increased availability of prescription medications, along with websites selling controlled substances without a prescription, are factors attributed to the increase in antidepressant misuse. Patients most often report abusing antidepressants to achieve a psycho stimulant-like effect.

Three Additional Sources (No Summary Required)

Ana Sandou: Medical New Today. Antidepressants may raise death risk by a third https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319462.php

Mercola: May 03, 2011. Antidepressants Cause 40,000 Deaths a Year - But They're Handed Out Like Candy https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/03/tips-to-avoiding-depression.aspx

Megan Brooks: Medscape. Antidepressants Tied to a Significantly Increased Risk for Death https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/886015

Hi Chaveda - Prewriting is one of the most important stages of the writing process because it gives you the opportunity to think through your ideas, develop your points, and bring some structure to your work. Completing the Week 3 Assignment should give you a solid head start on the projects to come, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing how this all comes together! All the best, Gabriel Smith